Racism in the workplace: Expert voices from around the world

After the callous murder of George Floyd by a police officer in May 2020, many organizations committed to new racial equity programs and initiatives. While some have found a measure of success,1 many have been rightly criticized2 for being too timid, lacking accountability, or being only performative.

What needs to be done to create workplaces where employees from marginalized racial and ethnic groups are fully included?

We interviewed 21 business professionals and academic scholars from around the world whose work focuses on race, ethnicity, and culture to hear their unique insights on this question. We asked them to share their stories of what the workplace looks like through their eyes and what they think should be done to create workplaces free from racism and bias.

Their candid and eye-opening stories from across the globe are reminders that racism persists in almost every environment—and that demonstrating empathy and having potentially difficult conversations are essential to making progress at both the individual and organizational levels.

Reading these stories of racism and learning is painful because they bring to light inequities in the global workplace. And when we take care to approach the stories with an intersectional lens, we see that the stories about people from ethnically or racially marginalized groups are about women, men, immigrants, refugees, religious minorities, and Indigenous people.

Taken together, they are inspiring—and necessary. They may be exactly what you need to spark real change at your organization.